Bottle brushing mechanism



Oct. 6, 1931. G. A. FULLIPS BOTTLE BRUSHING MECHANISM Filed March 26. 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet noew co'a Gem eJZ. I'aZZzps Oct. 6, 1931. G. A. FULLIPS BOTTLE BRUSHING MECHANISM Filed March 26. 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet Patented Oct. 6, 1931 T OFFICE. T

GEORGE A. FULLIPS, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO GEORGE J. HEWLETT, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO BOTTLE BRUSI-IING MECHANISM Application filed. March 26, 1928; Serial No. 264,693.

associated with bottle-washing machines for interiorly cleaning bottles, (or similar containers) provision is made for moving the brushes rectilinearly into and out of the bottles and cylindrical keepers are provided for .10 receiving the brushes as they are withdrawn from the bottles to maintain the bristles deflected toward the brush axes and reduce the normal diameter of the brushes to that of the bottle necks. It isthe present practice, furthermore, to maintain a rotative drive to the brushes while they interiorly engaging the bottles and also during the interim of advancingthe bottles to and from their brushing positions. It has, however, been observed by V this applicant that the constant maintenance of a drive is detrimental in'that the rotation of the brushes, while confined in their cylindrical receivers, subjects the bristles to unnecessary wear and tends moreover to im- ""i press upon said bristles a spirally twisted form, materially decreasing their efficiency when in use.

It is the object of the present invention to avoid such wear and deformation of the brushes by making a provision for automatically cutting off or establishing the drive to the brushes according as the latter are withdrawn from or advanced totheir bottle-cleaning positions. p

It is a further object to associate a clutch with a drive mechanism for a plurality of brushes, which mechanism moves with the brushes as the latter reciprocate toand. from their bottle-brushing positions, and to adapt stationary cam means to control said clutch so as to establish or out off the drive, according as the brushes are shifted into or out of said positions.

These and various other objects the invention attains by the construction hereinafter described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of the ver- 7 5G tically reciprocatory brush-driving mechanism, showing the clutch and its control means.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same, partially in section, upon the line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an end view of said mechanism; disclosing a portion of the bottle-carrying conveyor, and showing both limiting positions of reciprocation of the brushes and their drive means.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional View of the clutch mechanism for establishing and cutting off the drive to the brushes, said sections being taken upon the line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

Figure 5 is an end view of the male 1nember of said clutch, primarily showing the engagement with a slidable clutch collar of a control ring for said collar, the collar and shaft carrying it being sectionally illustrated.

In these views, the reference character 1 designates a horizontal track and 2 a portion of a bottle conveyor adapted to travel upon said track. Said conveyor comprises a plurality of bottle holders 3 which have the nature preferably of open-ended cylinders, the lower portions of which are conically reduced in diameter sufliciently to retain the bottles 4 or other containers to be cleaned. These, in the illustrated embodiment of the-invention are milk bottles but it is to be understood that the particular type or nature'of the con.- tainers to be'cleaned imposes no limitation upon the present invention.

The conveyor 2 is adapted to advancebe tween two suitably spaced pairs of uprights 5 and 5a which function as guides for a gear casing 6, thus adapted for vertical reciprocation below said conveyor and between said uprights. The casing 6 is supported by a pair of vertically elongated heads 7 and 7a, integrated with or otherwise rigidly secured to its ends, and the uprights 5 and 5a of each pair are sufliciently spaced (as best seen in Fig. 3) to form slide-ways receiving said heads. r I V v The casing 6 supports and journals a plurality of suitably spaced vertical shafts 8 which project sufficiently above said casing to adapt brushes 9 carried by the upper ends of said shafts to be fully inserted in the bottles. Each brush 9 comprises a pair of coin-v plement-ary semi-cylin ilrical members 10, copivotal upon the associated shaft 8 and adapted, upon rotation of such shatt to be centrifugally diverged, as is shown in dash lines in Fig. 3. Thus when the brat-hes are inserted in the bottles and power is applied, they will be expanded to act eiifectively upon the interior faces of the bottles.

As the brushes 9 are withdrawn from the bottles, they are adapted to enter iiulividual cylindrical receivers 11 carried beneath and adjacent to the holders 3 by a frame 12. elongated between the uprights 5 and 5c, and suitably supported by said uprights, as by the provision upon the ends of said frame of heads 13 respectively secured between the paired uprights. Thus as the brushes emerge from the bottle months the deflection of their bristles toward the brush axes is maintaii'ied so that they may be readily inserted in the next set of bottles which assume the brushing position.

"VVhile in their brushing positions the bottles are, as shown, inverted, and they are pressed down in their holders 3, by the headed lower ends of plungers 13a vertically slidable in a frame 136 sin-mounting the uprights 5 and 5a. Springs 130 coiled on said plungers urge the heads of the latter into yielding contact with the bottles and the heads of said plungers have spherically curved under faces, which facilitate movement of the hottles into position beneath said plungers.

For driving the shafts 8, pinions 14: are mounted fast thereupon within the casing 6 and are meshed, in groups of tour with drive gears 15 fast upon shafts 16, journaled vertically in said casing. A main drive shaft 17 is extended horizontally below the shafts 16 and has a driving connection with the latter through pairs of bevel gears 18. The shait 17 is journaled in the heads 7 and 7a and projects beyond the head 7 to terminally engage a bearing 19 formed in an upright 20, spaced from said head and rigidly secured at top and bottom to said head by bars 21 and 22. Upon said shaft within the frame formed by the bars 20, 21 and 22. there loosely mounted a pulley 23, which coaxially and preferably integrally therewith carries a clutch drum 2t. suitably interiorly ccuccl. Said drmn is interiorly engageable by a cor respondingly coned clutch member 25 splined to the shaft 17 to slide thereupon and. termed with an integral collar 26. An annular groove 27 in said collar loosely receives a. shifter ring 28, upon which a re mounted fast a pair of oppositely projecting radial pins 29, each journaling a roller 30. During vertical actuation of the parts, said rollers travel in guide ways 31 each torined between two vertically elongated elements 32 and 33, suitablyheldstationary. As illustrated, each element 32 is attached to the adjacent upright 5 by bolts 34 or the like and the element 323 is rigidly terminally connected to the element 32 by upper and lower cross-pieces 35 and 3G. The guide-forming edges of said elements have opposed portions 37, so inclined to the vertical, and so positioned as to act upon the rollers 30 to slide the male clutch member 25 into and out of its driving position according as the reciprocatory parts (which include the rollers 30) are moving upwardly and downwardly, the arrangement being such that the drive is established immediately after the brushes have been entered in the bottles and is out 01f immediately upon withdrawal of the brushes from the bottles.

Thus, during the intervals of travel of the conveyer 2, while the brushes are occuping their receivers 11, there is no transmission of a drive to said brushes and they are relieved of the wear and twisting effect that would otherwise result.

No attempt has been made in this disclosure to illustrate a mechanism for intermittently advancing the bottlecarrying conveyor or for automatically effecting a periodic reciprocation oi: the brushes and the parts which form a reciprocatory unit therewith, such mechanisn'is being features of bottle-washing machines now in use and being not essential to a proper comprehension of the present invention.

It is to be understood that for the purpose of this invention, there has been illustrated and described a. clutch of minimum complexity, and that in actual practice, more highly developed types of clutches may be employed to better advantage in efi'ectin the desired control of the drive to the brus we.

I claim:

1. In a bottle brushing mechanism, a conveyor. a holder for an inverted bottle, carried by said conveyor, a unit vertically reciprocatory beneath said conveyor, comprising a brush movable through the bottom of said holder and into a bottle in the holder in a certain position of the conveyor, said unit further comprising means for rotating said brush, a plunger vertically reciprocatory above said conveyor in the line of reciprocation of said brush for engaging a bottle in said holder, said plunger carrying a head having its under face formed with a convex approximately spherical curvature to facilitate travel of a bottle carried by said holder into engagement with said plunger, and means yieldably exerting downward pressure upon said plunger to resist upward yielding of such bottle.

2. In a bottle brushing machine, a plurality oi rotatable brushes, a drive mechanism for said brushes comprising a main drive shaft, 

